Habits of Compassion


Book Description

The Irish-Catholic Sisters accomplished tremendously successful work in founding charitable organizations in New York City from the Irish famine through the early twentieth century. Maureen Fitzgerald argues that their championing of the rights of the poor—especially poor women—resulted in an explosion of state-supported services and programs. Parting from Protestant belief in meager and means-tested aid, Irish Catholic nuns argued for an approach based on compassion for the poor. Fitzgerald positions the nuns' activism as resistance to Protestantism's cultural hegemony. As she shows, Roman Catholic nuns offered strong and unequivocal moral leadership in condemning those who punished the poor for their poverty and unmarried women for sexual transgression. Fitzgerald also delves into the nuns' own communities, from the class-based hierarchies within the convents to the political power they wielded within the city. That power, amplified by an alliance with the local Irish Catholic political machine, allowed the women to expand public charities in the city on an unprecedented scale.




The Kindness Method


Book Description

The Kindness Method is the key to breaking unwanted habits—for good! Combining her own therapeutic style, personal experiences, and techniques learned from working in the field of substance abuse, Shahroo Izadi shares simple steps that strengthen your willpower like a muscle, allowing you to sustain your motivation and make lasting change in your life. Shahroo’s completely non-judgmental process for mapping and channeling your habits is based on the principle of treating yourself with the compassion and understanding that it is often only reserved for other people. From procrastination to issues of body image, this method works by creating a custom plan—mapped by you, for you, and driven by self-motivation.




Cultivating Compassion


Book Description

Does your mind ever bounce from one thing to another, affecting your ability to be productive or creative? Does your inner critic occasionally, reducing your capacity to be kind to yourself? Does your heart hang onto past resentments even though you'd like to let them go? At one time or another, all of us struggle with these challenges. In Cultivating Compassion, Amy Pattee Colvin leads readers through a step-by-step exploration of personal values and thought patterns. She offers guidance through inspirational themes, self-reflection questions, and suggestions for daily action. This practical guide helps you discover how to: *Move toward contentment and away from anxiety while reducing judgment and criticism of self and others.*Calm the mind and direct thoughts more positively while fostering deeper levels of serenity, resilience, and creativity.*Integrate mindfulness and self-compassion practices into everyday life while developing the courage to take compassionate action.If you are ready move away from criticism and judgment for self and others and want to embrace peace and acceptance; or if you'd like to move through and beyond depression and anxiety to discover resilience, creativity, and joy, then Cultivating Compassion is for you. Shifting your mindset to a perspective of self-acceptance and self-compassion has a positive impact not only on your own life, but on the lives of family, friends, and community.




Acts of Compassion


Book Description

Robert Wuthnow finds that those who are most involved in acts of compassion are no less individualistic than anyone else--and that those who are the most intensely individualistic are no less involved in caring for others.




The Compassion Book


Book Description

The revered Buddhist teacher and author of When Things Fall Apart presents the lojong teachings—pithy slogans for daily contemplation—and the ways in which they can enrich our lives Welcome compassion and fearlessness as your guide, and you’ll live wisely and effectively in good times and bad. But that’s easier said than done. In The Compassion Book, Pema Chödrön introduces a powerful, transformative method to nurture these qualities using a practice called lojong, which has been a primary focus of her teachings and personal practice for many years. For centuries, Tibetan Buddhists have relied on these teachings to awaken the deep goodness that lies within us. The lojong teachings include fifty-nine pithy slogans for daily contemplation, such as “Always maintain only a joyful mind,” “Don’t be swayed by external circumstances,” “Don’t try to be the fastest,” and “Be grateful to everyone.” This book presents each of these slogans and includes Pema’s clear, succinct guidance on how to understand them—and how they can enrich our lives. It also features a forty-five-minute downloadable audio program entitled “Opening the Heart,” in which Pema offers in-depth instruction on tonglen meditation, a powerful practice that anyone can undertake to awaken compassion for oneself and others.




Body Kindness


Book Description

Create a healthier and happier life by treating yourself with compassion rather than shame. Imagine a graph with two lines. One indicates happiness, the other tracks how you feel about your body. If you’re like millions of people, the lines do not intersect. But what if they did? This practical, inspirational, and visually lively book shows you the way to a sense of well-being attained by understanding how to love, connect, and care for yourself—and that includes your mind as well as your body. Body Kindness is based on four principles. WHAT YOU DO: the choices you make about food, exercise, sleep, and more HOW YOU FEEL: befriending your emotions and standing up to the unhelpful voice in your head WHO YOU ARE: goal-setting based on your personal values WHERE YOU BELONG: body-loving support from people and communities that help you create a meaningful life With mind and body exercises to keep your energy spiraling up and prompts to help you identify what YOU really want and care about, Body Kindness helps you let go of things you can't control and embrace the things you can by finding the workable, daily steps that fit you best. It's the anti-diet book that leads to a more joyful and meaningful life.




Start Here


Book Description

"This revolutionary work outlines the first and only cross-training system for mastering the skill of happiness. Think P90x for the soul. Every day we have a choice: embrace happiness or let it pass us by. But nurturing happiness isn't easy. It takes understanding, guidance, and training. It takes skill to let go of day-to-day stress and inspire our most inner optimist. It takes LIFE XT. In collaboration with some of the world's leading researchers, Eric Langshur and Nate Klemp have created a comprehensive, nine-step training program to help anyone master the skill of happiness (LIFE XT). Teaching core skills such as mindfulness, physical fitness, and compassion will break a lifetime of habits that keep you distracted, overwhelmed, and addicted to unhealthy behaviors. With Start Here, you will: -Feel less stressed and more focused. -Experience a slower resting heart rate within just twenty minutes. -Sleep better and feel refreshed. Based on scientific research, Start Here provides the most efficient pathway to happiness and a greater sense of overall well-being"-- Provided by publisher.




The Self-Compassion Diet


Book Description

Most people say that when they lose weight and look better, they'll like themselves more. Jean Fain suggests that we've got it all backward. The best way to lose weight and look your best is to stop dieting and start with loving who you are. With The Self-Compassion Diet, this Harvard Medical School-affiliated psychotherapist shares a re...




Empathy


Book Description

Discover the Six Habits of Highly Empathic People A popular speaker and co-founder of The School of Life, Roman Krznaric has traveled the world researching and lecturing on the subject of empathy. In this lively and engaging book, he argues that our brains are wired for social connection. Empathy, not apathy or self-centeredness, is at the heart of who we are. By looking outward and attempting to identify with the experiences of others, Krznaric argues, we can become not only a more equal society, but also a happier and more creative one. Through encounters with groundbreaking actors, activists, designers, nurses, bankers and neuroscientists, Krznaric defines a new breed of adventurer. He presents the six life-enhancing habits of highly empathic people, whose skills enable them to connect with others in extraordinary ways – making themselves, and the world, more truly fulfilled.




Habits of Compassion


Book Description

The Irish-Catholic Sisters accomplished tremendously successful work in founding charitable organizations in New York City from the Irish famine through the early twentieth century. Maureen Fitzgerald argues that their championing of the rights of the poor—especially poor women—resulted in an explosion of state-supported services and programs. Parting from Protestant belief in meager and means-tested aid, Irish Catholic nuns argued for an approach based on compassion for the poor. Fitzgerald positions the nuns' activism as resistance to Protestantism's cultural hegemony. As she shows, Roman Catholic nuns offered strong and unequivocal moral leadership in condemning those who punished the poor for their poverty and unmarried women for sexual transgression. Fitzgerald also delves into the nuns' own communities, from the class-based hierarchies within the convents to the political power they wielded within the city. That power, amplified by an alliance with the local Irish Catholic political machine, allowed the women to expand public charities in the city on an unprecedented scale.